Newly declassified emails reveal that former US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper overrode objections from within the intelligence community to fast-track the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) concluding that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered in the 2016 US election to help President Donald Trump.
The documents, released Wednesday by DNI Tulsi Gabbard , show Clapper urging spy chiefs to “stick to” the narrative and treat the process as a “team sport,” even if it meant compromising normal intelligence standards.
The ICA, formally endorsed by the CIA, FBI, and NSA, was in fact drafted by just five CIA analysts under then-Director John Brennan, according to a House Intelligence Committee report. While the FBI and CIA expressed high confidence in Putin’s preference for Trump, the NSA assessed it with only moderate confidence. Brennan’s specially formed “Fusion Cell” produced the assessment in less than a week, withholding sensitive and unverified intelligence from most of the intelligence community until a two-day review just before its release, reported Daily Caller.
In a December 22, 2016 email, NSA Director Mike Rogers raised concerns about the compressed timeline, limited access to intelligence, and insufficient review time for NSA analysts. “I’m concerned that, given the expedited nature of this activity, my folks aren’t fully comfortable saying that we’ve had enough time to review all of the intelligence to be absolutely confident in their assessments,” Rogers wrote. “If NSA is intended to be a co-author on this product, I personally expect to see even the most sensitive evidence related to the conclusion.”
Clapper rejected Rogers’ request for more time, insisting on unity among agencies. “It is essential that we (CIA/NSA/FBI/ODNI) be on the same page and are supportive of the report — in the highest tradition of ‘that’s OUR story, and we’re sticking to it,’” he replied. “More time is not negotiable… This is one project that has to be a team sport.”
Gabbard said the emails confirm that intelligence standards were knowingly compromised. “The decision to compromise standards and violate protocols in the creation of the 2017 manufactured intelligence assessment was deliberate and came from the very top,” she stated, as quoted by Daily Caller. “Clapper’s own words confirm that complying with the order to manufacture intelligence was a ‘team sport.’”
On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social quoting Gabbard: “Newly declassified Top Secret emails sent on December 22, 2016 complying with President Obama’s order to create the manufactured January 2017 ICA about Russia expose how DNI James Clapper demanded the IC fall in line behind the Russia Hoax. Clapper admits that it was a ‘team sport’ that required compromise on our ‘normal modalities.’”
The emails are part of the fourth batch of Russiagate-related documents Gabbard has declassified. Her office says it is working with advisers from multiple intelligence agencies to release additional material in the public interest
The documents, released Wednesday by DNI Tulsi Gabbard , show Clapper urging spy chiefs to “stick to” the narrative and treat the process as a “team sport,” even if it meant compromising normal intelligence standards.
The ICA, formally endorsed by the CIA, FBI, and NSA, was in fact drafted by just five CIA analysts under then-Director John Brennan, according to a House Intelligence Committee report. While the FBI and CIA expressed high confidence in Putin’s preference for Trump, the NSA assessed it with only moderate confidence. Brennan’s specially formed “Fusion Cell” produced the assessment in less than a week, withholding sensitive and unverified intelligence from most of the intelligence community until a two-day review just before its release, reported Daily Caller.
In a December 22, 2016 email, NSA Director Mike Rogers raised concerns about the compressed timeline, limited access to intelligence, and insufficient review time for NSA analysts. “I’m concerned that, given the expedited nature of this activity, my folks aren’t fully comfortable saying that we’ve had enough time to review all of the intelligence to be absolutely confident in their assessments,” Rogers wrote. “If NSA is intended to be a co-author on this product, I personally expect to see even the most sensitive evidence related to the conclusion.”
Clapper rejected Rogers’ request for more time, insisting on unity among agencies. “It is essential that we (CIA/NSA/FBI/ODNI) be on the same page and are supportive of the report — in the highest tradition of ‘that’s OUR story, and we’re sticking to it,’” he replied. “More time is not negotiable… This is one project that has to be a team sport.”
Gabbard said the emails confirm that intelligence standards were knowingly compromised. “The decision to compromise standards and violate protocols in the creation of the 2017 manufactured intelligence assessment was deliberate and came from the very top,” she stated, as quoted by Daily Caller. “Clapper’s own words confirm that complying with the order to manufacture intelligence was a ‘team sport.’”
On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social quoting Gabbard: “Newly declassified Top Secret emails sent on December 22, 2016 complying with President Obama’s order to create the manufactured January 2017 ICA about Russia expose how DNI James Clapper demanded the IC fall in line behind the Russia Hoax. Clapper admits that it was a ‘team sport’ that required compromise on our ‘normal modalities.’”
The emails are part of the fourth batch of Russiagate-related documents Gabbard has declassified. Her office says it is working with advisers from multiple intelligence agencies to release additional material in the public interest
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